Thursday, October 17, 2013

Pelican Update

We made a trip over to Sutherlin to Plat I Reservoir
yesterday afternoon to check on the American White Pelican. Of course we incorporated a number of errands
in Sutherlin to justify that much driving for just one bird. It was our first
observation in adequate light to get a good photo, as morning fog had hampered
visibility on our earlier trips. We first spotted this pelican on October
ninth, so he has been around for eight days now. Not sure if he will hang around or eventually
take off. They normally winter much further south. The reason for my intense
curiosity is that they are a rare sight in Douglas County, with the last
sighting reported to eBird for the county was in 2011.